Nightclaw's Story

Chapter 1

The musk of fallen leaves, the hidden mice scrabbling along beneath them, a faraway scent of clean, running water. A sign of prey nearby, the slow approach, and the terrifying moment that would define success. Nightpaw let herself become lost in the sights and smells of the hunt. A small brown shrew sat sniffing at the ground a tail-length away from her. All she had to do was enact the methods she had been so dutifully taught and drilled on. She balanced lightly on her paws, trying to stay completely still to keep from alerting the creature to her presence.

All right, she thought. This will be easy. I just have to pounce and swipe. It's not hard. Nightpaw hesitated only a moment before making the jump.

The sable-furred apprentice leapt forward, sailing through the thick Greenleaf air for mere moments before reaching the shrew. She lashed out with unsheathed claws, causing the animal to let out a cry of pain and Nightpaw quickly and swiftly bit down on its neck. The shrew fell limp, its pained cries silenced as the life was taken away from the poor creature.

Deciding that there was no time to waste, she shook the leaves from her fur and stood up, turning around to find a new scent. She caught a glimpse of a slender black tail flashing out of sight between two dense ferns and felt herself flush with embarrassment beneath her fur. Her mentor, Batpounce, had been watching at exactly the right moment! Nightpaw was sure then that the rest of the assessment would go well.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she continued to search for more prey. The woods were overflowing with mice and rabbits during the warm months, but she wasn't focused on hunting rabbits right now.

Nightpaw was never one who liked being put on the spot or being the center of attention. She wasn't sure why she got so nervous around others, but it was something she didn't let her mind dwell on for very long, especially when she had a hunting assessment to complete.

When she finished mulling over her strategy, Nightpaw managed to catch a mouse before sunhigh. Meowing in triumph and delight, she returned to the spot her mentor told her to with her meager catch. She carried the fresh-kill happily to the sunny grove, dropping the shrew and mouse at her mentor's dark-colored paws and raised her head in glee.

Batpounce, who had waited patiently for her apprentice to return, purred encouragingly, "Wow Nightpaw! You were great out there!" Batpounce congratulated her apprentice. Nightpaw blushed and ducked her head. "Thanks, Batpounce," she mewed. "Have Starlingpaw and Darkfeather finished yet?" she asked hopefully. Starlingpaw, Batpounce's daughter, was Nightpaw's best friend. The two apprentices had known one another since they were newborn kits. Batpounce's eyes gleamed with amusement and she laughed at her apprentice's enthusiasm. "Let's head back to camp and find out," she replied. Nightpaw nodded and picked up her prey.

The pair of she-cats padded their way through the brightly lit woods and pushed through the thicket tunnel into DawnClan camp, which was sheltered from the rain by the towering trees that built a canopy over the dusty clearing. Nightpaw's cheeks burned with humiliation as she placed her shrew and mouse on the bountiful fresh-kill pile, and she padded silently to the apprentice's den. Her friend, Starlingpaw, waited expectantly in the mossy patch of ground that the apprentices shared as sleeping quarters.

"Nightpaw! You're just in time!" the sable-furred apprentice spun around to see her best friend racing toward her with a wide grin on her face. "What'er you so happy about?" she asked her friend. "Oh Nightpaw, did you forget already?" Starlingpaw meowed with a joking laugh. "Today's your warrior ceremony!" Nightpaw's eyes popped wide open in shock. "Fox dung! I completely forgot!" she yowled in a panic. "Woah! Calm down Nightpaw, take a deep breath and relax!" Starlingpaw ordered with a sharp meow. Nightpaw obeyed and took a deep breath to settle the nerves bubbling inside her belly. "Ok I'm ready! Let's go!" she cheered and the two she-cats went to join the other apprentices.

•••

Nightpaw leaned against Binxfeather with a soft purr rumbling in the back of her throat. "I love you Binx," Nightpaw whispered into Binxfeather's fur. "I love you too," Binx said back. "Attension, cats of DawnClan!" came Twilightstar's yowl from the Moontree. Every cat in the clearing looked up at her with wide and curious eyes. "All cats old enough to climb a tree, join beneath the Moontree for a Clan meeting!" she mewed again to get everyone's attention. "It is time to give one of our apprentices her warrior name," Twilightstar began.

"Nightpaw, please step under the light of the Moontree," Twilightstar meowed, Nightpaw nodded her head and did as her leader instructed.

"Nightpaw, do you promise to defend your Clan in the toughest of times, even at the cost of your life?" she asked, staring down at the sable-furred apprentice. Nightpaw nodded.

"Yes I promise, Twilightstar," she meowed confidently. Twilightstar smiled.

"Nightpaw, you have trained hard for this very moment, Batpounce has taught you well." Twilightstar mewed. "Nightpaw, from this day forward, you shall be known as Nightclaw. StarClan honors you kindness and spirit, and we welcome you as a full warrior of DawnClan."

"Nightclaw! Nightclaw! Nightclaw!" yowls of excitement rang out as the DawnClan cats raised their heads to Silverpelt as they cheated. And as the Clan chanted her new name, Nightclaw smiled over at Starlingpaw. The young warrior felt a pang of saddens as she stared at her friend. She was upset that her friend hadn't become a warrior with her, but due to Starlingpaw's resent troubles with her training, the young she-cat was still an apprentice.

Nightclaw had overheard Honeypool and Darkfeather talking in the medicine cat's den a few days ago. She had been devastated when she had heard that Starlingpaw might never become a warrior due to a medical condition called a kit-gait.

Though Nightclaw was sad for her friend, soon Binxfeather shoved through the crowd and reached her soon-to-be mate. The two she-cats purred as they brushed up against each other and entwined their tails, together at last.

"Now we can truly be together," Nightclaw mewed to her mate. Binx purred and nuzzled her mate and licked her cheek. "Yes, yes we can indeed," she mewed with a happy twitch of her black tail.

"But first things first, you have a vigil to do tonight. So you better get on that soon."

Nightclaw sighed and flattened her ears, then meowed childishly, "aw Binx, do I have to?" she whined. Binx laughed and playfully nipped one of Nightclaw's ears. "Yes, yes you have to, Nightclaw," the black she-cat gave an amused purr at her mate's kit-like pouty face. "But don't worry, I'll make you a nest in the warriors den," she promised her. Hearing those words seemed to brighten Nightclaw's mood. "Thanks Binx!" she meowed, "see you soon," and with that the sable-furred warrior went to sit vigil for the night.